The problem with Britain, Andy Burnham told his Labour Party faithful(忠实支持者) last month, is that “shareholders never lose and the public never win.” Yet now Mr Burnham is in trouble because his favourite shareholder lost too much. Last week the English Premier League found that, under its Emirati owners, Manchester City(曼城足球俱乐部), a top football club, vastly understated(低报，少报) financial losses through “sham(虚假的，伪造的)” deals, allowing the club to outspend its rivals(支出超过对手).
上月，安迪·伯纳姆对工党忠实支持者说，英国的问题在于“股东从不亏钱，公众从不获益”。可如今伯纳姆先生自己却陷入了麻烦，因为他最中意的股东亏得太多了。上周，英格兰超级联赛认定，顶级足球俱乐部曼城在其阿联酋老板治下，通过“虚假”交易大幅低报财务亏损，从而得以在支出上压过对手。
Most corporate scandals that become political ones go off with a bang(惊天动地地爆发). An oil spill or bank run(银行挤兑) are as unexpected as they are shocking. But the City affair surprises few. (Unsurprisingly, the club denies wrongdoing.) The league’s case was sparked by documents leaked back in 2018, about deals struck not long after Sheikh Mansour, an Emirati vice-president, bought the club in 2008.(英超联赛的指控源于2018年泄露的文件，涉及谢赫·曼苏尔——一位阿联酋副总统——2008年买下俱乐部后不久达成的交易。) These have already been the subject of a case by Europe’s footballing authority that concluded in 2020. Rather than an outpouring of anger, the City affair inspires something far worse—apathy(冷漠，无动于衷), about football, and about Britain.
大多数从企业丑闻演变为政治丑闻的事件，爆发时都惊天动地。石油泄漏或银行挤兑，既出人意料又令人震惊。但曼城这件事，几乎没人感到意外。（不出所料，俱乐部否认有不当行为。）英超联赛的指控源于2018年泄露的文件，涉及谢赫·曼苏尔——一位阿联酋副总统——2008年买下俱乐部后不久达成的交易。这些交易此前已是欧洲足球管理机构一桩案件的主题，该案于2020年审结。曼城事件激起的不是愤怒的宣泄，而是更糟糕的东西——对足球、对英国的冷漠。
“Isn’t my problem but theirs, probably,” said Roberto Mancini, the former City manager, of a second contract with a club in Abu Dhabi which allegedly(据称，据指控) boosted his earnings without hitting City’s bottom line(账本底线，净利润). “Well, of course,” was the reaction of a British public accustomed to broken systems and whose expectations of those in power have been much diminished. The shock is not at the idea that a big part of the nation’s commercial and cultural life was based on cheating, but that a body with any authority would call it out.(令人震惊的不是这个国家很大一部分商业和文化生活建立在欺诈之上，而是居然有一个拥有权威的机构会把它公之于众。) Mr Burnham, for his part, now finds himself at odds with(与……有矛盾) investors he thought were good lads: having poured money into Manchester when he was mayor, the Emiratis are reportedly planning to withhold(扣留，拒绝给予) it from Milton Keynes(米尔顿凯恩斯) while he is prime minister.
“这大概不是我的问题，是他们的，”前曼城主帅罗伯托·曼奇尼在谈到与阿布扎比一家俱乐部的第二份合同时说。据称，这份合同抬高了他的收入，却没有影响曼城的账目。“嗯，当然啦，”英国公众如此回应——他们早已习惯体制失灵，对掌权者的期望也大打折扣。令人震惊的不是这个国家很大一部分商业和文化生活建立在欺诈之上，而是居然有一个拥有权威的机构会把它公之于众。至于伯纳姆先生，如今他发现自己与那些他曾以为是“好小伙”的投资者产生了矛盾：据报道，阿联酋人曾在他担任市长时向曼彻斯特注资，如今却打算在他出任首相时对米尔顿凯恩斯断供。
And did those feet in extra time
那脚步可曾踏入加时赛